Alex Kava - Black Friday

Friday morning, November 23
Mall of America
Bloomington, Minnesota

R ebecca Cory stood her ground despite another elbow shoved into her shoulder blades. Shed let the first two shoves go. A quick glance back at the tattooed man convinced her to ignore this one, too. The man towered over her, wearing camouflage pants and a muscle T-shirt. No signs of a coat. Quite a strange fashion statement considering it was twenty degrees outside and snowing, but not a bad idea in the crowded mall.

Even with a glance it would have been hard for Rebecca not to notice the purple-and-green dragon that snaked down the mans arm, its tail curling up around his neck and its fire-breathing head squeezing out of the T-shirts tight armhole. The tattoo crawled all the way down past the mans elbow. The same elbow that kept finding its way into the middle of Rebeccas shoulder blades.

She told herself to be patient. She could finally see the order counter as the line to the malls coffee bar grew shorter. It wouldnt be much longer. She tried to concentrate on the Christmas music, what she could hear of it through the crowds chatter and the temper tantrums of impatient toddlers.

in a winter wonderland.

She loved that song. But it certainly didnt feel like winter in here. Sweat trickled down her back. She wished she had left her coat back with Dixon and Patrick who were guarding a rare find, a bistro table and four chairs in the malls overcrowded food court.

Rebecca hummed with the music. She knew all the words. They had sung Christmas songs on their long road trip. Connecticut to Minnesota. Twenty-one hours. Thirteen hundred miles. Surviving on Red Bull, convenience-store coffee and McDonalds. She hadnt caught up yet on sleep although yesterday they all crashed after Thanksgiving dinner at Dixons grandparents house. The first holiday meal shed had in yearsturkey, dressing, real mashed potatoes and all the trimmings. Granddad said a blessing. Nanna served seconds whether you asked for them or not. Dixon had no clue how lucky he was. Family, tradition, stability, unconditional love. It gave Rebecca hope to see those things still existed despite being absent from her familys life.

Another elbow.

Damn!

She resisted looking back this time.

What in the world was she doing here?

She hated malls and yet here she was on the day after Thanksgiving, the busiest shopping day and craziest shopping crowd of the year. Shed let Dixon talk her into it, just like this whole trip, convincing her itd be an adventure shed never forget. Hed been doing crap like that since they were in kindergarten and he convinced her paste tasted like cotton candy. Youd think shed learn by now that Dixons taste for adventure was pretty much like his taste for cotton candy, tame and sugar-coated, the hype being the most exciting part of anything Dixon did. What did she expect from a guy who quoted Batman and Robin?

And poor Patrick, along for the ride, trying to be the good sport.

Patrick.

He was a whole different story. She should have found Patricks behavior endearing. Instead, she thought it a bit suspicious that this totally cool and together guy would want to travel 1300 miles to spend Thanksgiving with her and Dixon. Seemed a long way to go just to get inside her pants.

That wasnt fair.

She knew he didnt have any family to keep him in Connecticut over the long holiday weekend. His mom was in Green Bay. He had a stepsister in D.C. Hed asked if they could cut through Wisconsin on the way back, like that was part of his excuse to go along. That maybe they could just drop in and say hi to his mom. But no big deal if it didnt happen.

That was Patrick. Low-key, mature, steady as a rock. Dixon called it boring. Rebecca called it dependable and she liked that about Patrick even if she wasnt so sure about his intentions. Dependable felt good. Having Patrick along felt good, though she didnt like admitting that even to herself.

Theyd become friends working at Champs across from the University of New Haven. Patrick tended bar and Rebecca waited tables. She wasnt old enough to serve drinks to the table and if there wasnt another of age waitress working then Patrick did it for her, always so patient about it even when he was swamped behind the bar.

Patient, kind, gentlevery suspicious.

Pretty weird, or maybe just sad and pathetic, that she found all that suspicious. Mostly in the beginning. Not so much anymore. Next to Dixon, Patrick was her best friend. Her mom didnt think it was normal for Rebecca to have boys as best friends.

Are you having sex with these boys? her mom wanted to know. Then when Rebecca told her absolutely not, her mom seemed even more perplexed.

Youre not a lesbian, are you? her mom had asked and quickly added, Not that theres anything wrong with that.

In the last three years Rebecca had watched her mom and dad yell their way through a divorce. Her dad immediately married the coworker he claimed to have just met. Her mother reciprocated with her own stream of men. After watching the two of them, Rebecca had long ago made the decision to concentrate on her future, to use their love life catastrophes as inspiration. Her future was her escape and she wouldnt allow someone, dysfunctional parents or a boyfriend, to screw that up for her.

Besides, her love for animals, especially dogs, was the one thing Rebecca knew without question. Taking care of them, healing them would save her. She looked to it as her salvation from an otherwise dreary, miserable life. She knew veterinary school would be a long haul, but she was willing to put in the tough hours. Maybe someday have her own clinic. That and a pack of dogs, a couple of horses, some cats, too. Her mom wouldnt even let her have a small dog in their post-divorce condo. It was just as well. Not having someone she was obligated to, had made it easier to leave for college and live on campus. Same theory went for not having someone to hold her back, distract her from her dream.

When her mom asked if she was coming home for Thanksgiving, Rebeccas first inclination was to blurt out that she didnt have a home. But her mom wouldnt have understood. And she certainly wouldnt have allowed Rebecca to travel halfway across the country with Dixon and Patrick, so Rebecca lied.